We boarded the Eclipse on Sunday, January 21, 2018, just around the noon hour. It is destined to be our cruising home as we travel to St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. What a warm break from our frigid New Jersey winter. Here’s a picture, from our hotel room, of the port with the Eclipse and its brethren docked and waiting to take on their next excited passengers.
The early part of the day was gloomy, overcast and blustery, but by cast off the sun was shining and the sky was blue with billowy white clouds. The Miami skyline is very dramatic and interesting.
The boarding process was somewhat painful; kind of like having a splinter pulled with tweezers from your finger. We survived the process and eventually made our way onto the ship. Our first stop was lunch at Sushi on Five. This pleasant Japanese sushi restaurant replaced Bistro on Five. Lunch was very good, the sushi being the equal of any good restaurant at home.

By the time lunch was over the cabins were open and we made our way up from deck 5 to cabin 8235. It is an ocean view stateroom with balcony, category 1C. Our cabin is well situated, not too far from the main staircase, and fairly midship. It could use a little more storage space. There is a lack of drawer space and the closet is not very spacious. The tradeoff, if there is one, is that we have a very nice cabin steward, Sijas, who is doing a great job of keeping everything ship shape.
We enjoyed sailing from the port of Miami, easterly down Government Cut, into the Atlantic Ocean.
We were sitting in the Sky Lounge taking in the view and thinking about the next 14 days.
The Eclipse was launched in 2010 when Godmother Emma Pontin, an English yatchswoman and cancer survivor, christened her. She is under the command of Captain Leonardos Palaiokrassas from Ithaca, Greece. He has been with Celebrity Cruises since 1997. We had a chance to meet him and he is an engaging, humorous individual who is appreciated by passengers and crew alike. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship with lots of artwork which I will enjoy photographing over the next 14 days and nights.
Dinner the first night was a buffet in our cabin. I wanted to, no had to, watch the Philadelphia Eagles play the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC conference championship game. We are from the Philadelphia area and I am an ardent Eagles rooter. Good game if you’re an Eagles’ fan and now its on to the Super Bowl; third time in team history.
How exciting!!
I will be traveling along with you via your blog!
I enjoy your posts, Carl
Safe travels to you both. Enjoy!!
Sharon
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Thanks Sharon.
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Thanks Sharon. Now that I have overcome my internet problems I should be able to post the rest of our trip to this point. See you soon.
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Very nice start to your cruise. I always enjoy the photos. I understand the issue with storage in those cabins. The storage shelf over the bed is useless for me being vertically challenged. Standing on the bed to open it is not an option for me either. Enjoy your day today in Antigua.
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Thanks Gail. You’re not vertically challenged, you are just short. See you soon.
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Enjoy every minute Carl! I will be traveling with you as i follow your blog!
-Deena
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Thanks Deena. Nice to know you are keeping up with our journey. Talk to you soon.
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Fantastic, we will be on the Eclipse in March, so will enjoy following your cruise
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Thanks Sharon. The Eclipse is a lovely ship and I am sure you will enjoy your trip.
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